Roadwork a "postmodern masterpiece?" & Father Callahan

I was pleased to see this essay appear on the website Gawker last week. Gawker's more known for its snark than its sincerity, so an earnest attempt at understanding the book was a real surprise.

I'm talking to the author this morning for The Kingcast, and I was prepping for that, I (shockingly) re-read the book.

One of my surprises was to discover that good ol' Pere, Father Don Callahan, shows up in the book! His name in the book is Phil Drake, but I am convinced that it's Don on his travels after leaving Salem's Lot. "Phil" is a street priest who has renounced his ordination and has a scarred, misshapen hand. Sound familiar?

Ms. Mod, can you tell me when Roadwork was written in relation to Salem's Lot? I know Roadwork was a 1980 publication, five years after Salem's Lot, but I don't know when it was written. I'm going through my books to see if I can find it, but no dice so far.

AH! Found a reference! In the Stephen King Story, Beahm writes that King writes in an introduction to the anthologized Bachman novels that he wrote Roadwork between Salem's Lot and The Shining. I wonder if the Callahan / Drake similarities were Easter Eggs for us Constant Readers?

And... I'm a fool. Another thread in this forum has a poster who figured that out already.